Summit on racism, inclusion LEDA Summit on Racism and Inclusion to draw hundreds

Sunday

May 11, 2014 at 8:00 PM

By Peg.McNichol@hollandsentinel.com(616) 546-4269

The problem with talking about racism is that it can be too easy. Easy as booing obvious incidents, like NBA Clippers owner Donald Sterling's recent comments."We understand racism is a bad thing and to be a racist is to be a bad person," said Gail Harrison, Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance's executive director. LEDA's upcoming Summit on Racism and Inclusion, set for May 21 at Hope College, has a new name (formerly the Summit on Racism) and will focus on dismantling unintentional bias. Aided by a Kellogg Foundation grant, this year's summit features world-class speakers talking about race, diversity and reconciliation in a variety of ways. Already more than 500 have registered with numbers growing daily. The cap is 800. Almost 80 percent are first-time attendees."We have people coming from across the state, from Ohio and Indiana," said Harrison. "We are bringing in 10 nationally acclaimed speakers. This is the biggest event we've ever hosted."She's hoping everyone interested in West Michigan, from CEOs to community members, can attend. Already more than 500 have registered. While research consistently shows that 85 percent of whites believe in racial equality, "when you look at race by health, education, home ownership, incarceration rates, in terms of race or ethnic backgrounds, we see very negative outcomes for people of color."Some of these negatives can be directly linked to ongoing segregation on all fronts; others by social conditioning and history, she said. "We deny our racial attitudes, yet we continue to be influenced by them."She illustrates such bias using the example of a white family looking for home. After looking at equal homes, with one in a diverse neighborhood and the other in a very white neighborhood, the family picks the home where people look like they do. This pattern remains true in hiring, she said, and the consequences create a domino effect with long-range impact, limiting where people can live or work, how much they can spend on health, education and recreation. People without equal access suffer across the board, she said."We have to own the fact that we are socialized in a very racialized society," she said. Research shows that children as young at 18 months show racial bias, she said, and "by the time kids are five or six, they show significant bias." One study on emergency room treatment for people with serious injuries found that, while doctors treated pain in whites 100 percent of the time, blacks were only medicated 27 percent of the time.John A. Powell, director of University of California Berkeley's Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society, and Manuel Pastor, of the University of Southern California, are among the speakers. Experts in health, education, faith, law, public policy, community and business will lead breakout sessions on recognizing and changing unintentional bias.Ending racism takes work on all fronts, she said, adding that racial equality benefits everyone, noting that it's normal for people of all races to have biases toward others, but "we have to understand in our society, that's not helpful. We have to get comfortable with people form all racial and ethnic background."Powell's set to open the day with a talk called "Transforming Our Concepts of Self and Others to Form an Inclusive Society."In addition to The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Summit supporters include Herman Miller, Meijer, Hope College and The Brooks Family Fund, and LEDA is collaborating with 75 organizations statewide.For a complete list of sessions or to register for the conference, set for 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. May 21 at Hope College, visit ethnicdiversity.org. Registration costs $45 and ends May 18.— Follow this reporter on Facebook and Twitter, @SentinelPeg.